Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong on Tuesday said his administration
is determined to ensure that development is taken to rural dwellers in
the state .
Lalong made this known while speaking at the submission of the report of the committee on energy in Jos
He said my government, s policy is hinged on its total commitment to
improving overall access to energy, especially to our rural populace
where a larger proportion of the citizens of the state reside. This,
expectedly, should cater for the short, medium and long terms energy
needs of the state.
“Today marks a major milestone in the life of this administration, as
we take another bold step towards realizing one of our core mandates
under the rescue mission. We will recall that this committee was earlier
set up by government to look into the challenges of the provision of
energy, particularly electricity to the people. It is indeed a
fundamental fact that virtually every economic activity in this digital
age is dependent on energy for it to thrive, hence the need to get our
energy policy right.”
” The provision of energy is therefore key to the realization of the 5
policy thrusts of the administration, because energy is a very
fundamental resource in driving the economic growth and social
development of any nation. ”
” In order to achieve our energy policy objectives, government came up
with three key policy documents on energy, which serve as an eloquent
testimony to our desire to turn things around in the energy sector as
follows: First, the Plateau State Policy and Strategy on Renewable
Energy. Second, the Plateau State Rural Electrification Plan; and third,
the Plateau State Guidelines for Mini-Grids PPP Development.”
‘The provision of Solar Mini-Grids to Demshin and Angwan Rina
communities of Shendam LGA, which was done under a Public Private
Partnership (PPP) arrangement are indicative of the fact that our
efforts have started yielding the needed fruits. Right now, the two
communities are today enjoying constant, reliable, clean energy and
improved social lives.”
” As I mentioned earlier, the provision of energy poses a national
challenge and, while the federal government is making relentless efforts
in addressing the problem, it behoves us as a government to think
outside the box by exploring other alternatives within our environs
towards complementing the erratic and limited energy supply by existing
service providers. Thus, government constituted this committee, by and
large, with a view to not just avoid the mistakes of the past but to put
behind us the energy challenge and to engender the state’s economic
development, promote creation of wealth among the people and other
social services delivery.”
“Let me reiterate at this juncture that government is totally committed
to ensuring that our energy challenge is consigned to the dustbin of
history in the not-too-distant future. Accordingly, as we receive the
committee report, government is poised to meticulously scrutinize and
implement the recommendations as possible solutions to the energy
challenge that we face today in order to cushion the negative effects of
lack of energy.”
“. To this end, and since everyone is a stakeholder in the Plateau
project, i urge all the people of Plateau State to join hands with
government by giving us the maximum support so as to move the state to
the next level. This is very necessary if we must fulfil the dreams of
our founding fathers door sustainable development.”
” Finally, i will not end this address without commending the members of
the committee for sacrificing your time, talents and energy to do a
thorough job. It is indeed the height of patriotism by your contributing
to the progress and development of our state at a time like this when
your services are needed to pull the state out of her energy demands. As
a continuous call to service, let me state that we are not yet done with you; So I urge all of you to avail us your patriotic services especially at the implementation stage or in any other capacity in the future.
